So I bought the aluminum coolant and power steering tanks from m7. I had the local mini dealership install them for me. Almost immediately the power steering pump failed. They installed a new power steering pump and a few weeks later the power steering pump failed again. The dealership said the Canton Racing Products tank was to blame because there is no filter in the tank. Dirty fluid causes the power steering pump to fail. Anyone out there have this same problem? I bought the tank thinking I was making a smart choice. I have not heard back from Canton Racing or m7 yet.

 

Sorry I don't have input on this but I definitely would love to know more about this issue/problem.

 

the stock container doesn't have a filter....

 

This is the response from m7:
We have sold hundreds of these PS tanks and never heard of this problem until now. I think it is an excuse the dealership is using. The system should have been cleaned and clean fresh fluid installed when the tank was changed. These is no way for contamination to enter the closed hydraulic system under normal operating conditions. When you PS pump was changed again the system should again have been flushed and new fluid installed.
We have our R53 test car running the very first PS tank make. It has been a daily driver for over 2 years (with 180,000 miles on the original pump) and no problems have developed.

I can only suspect the dealer was careless when they installed the tank by allowing contamination to enter the system during the installation of the tank.

This is the best info I can provide.

Customer Service Team
M7 Speed
We are MINI Cooper Performance Experts!

 

Really feeling dumb.... is there somewhere I can confirm this and point this out to the dealership?

 

It has a built in filter in the tank to wick away moisture from the fluid.

Unfortunately, as a dealer it is their responsibility to connect the dots of failure hear. Conjecture and innuendo's wont cut it....

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act makes it illegal for companies to void your warranty or deny coverage under the warranty simply because you used an aftermarket or recycled part. The manufacturer or dealer can, however, require consumers to use select parts if those parts are provided to consumers free of charge under the warranty.

Still, if it turns out that the aftermarket or recycled part was itself defective or wasn't installed correctly, and it causes damage to another part that is covered under the warranty, the manufacturer or dealer has the right to deny coverage for that part and charge you for any repairs. The FTC says the manufacturer or dealer must show that the aftermarket or recycled part caused the need for repairs before denying warranty coverage.
= It's incumbent upon the dealer to prove the aftermarket tank caused the pump to fail...if they cant prove it in a court of law they should not be saying that.....

 

I read the response from M7 above. But IMO air in the system would probably be more of a likely suspect over contamination...How did the pump sound after the new tank was installed ? Did the 2nd one make lots of noise ( wining ) as they do before they crap out ? Did they remember to connect the PS fan after the 2nd one was installed ?

 

After they installed the PS tank I could hear the power steering pump whining a little as I left the dealership. I got home and parked it in the garage. Next morning the garage floor has fluid all over it. They replaced that power steering pump. The new power steering pump started with the whining again so I called the dealership and brought it back in (where it's at now). I don't know if they remembered to connect the PS fan.... As of right now the dealership is replacing the tank with oem tank and putting in a new power steering pump.... again

 

Sounds more like issue of a poor installation. Both lack of fluid to cool the pump and air in the hydraulic system creates lots of excessive heat, pump works too hard = failed pump....brand new pumps and fluid topped off makes for a very quiet PS pump. It should be almost silent when new.

 

Ditto, i just had mine replaced and you couldn't hear it working at all, still can't.

 

mine makes a decent amount of noise and hasn't failed yet, its like month 8

 

I was going to say the same thing, the pump should be a high pitch slight whine, should not sound like its gulping fluid and then air pockets. I think they might have messed up the install. Yea, should be no fluid on the floor the next day. Something was not connected right and it ran the fluid low. Let us know what happens.

 

So I got my Mini back. Dealership installed an OEM Reservoir and replaced the Power Steering pump all under warranty. They didn't charge any labor as well. I'm still out $1200.00 for the first time. They stated that because the Canton Racing Tank didn't have a filter it caused the power steering pump to fail. They stated that there was metallic flakes in the fluid. None of the reasoning still makes any sense. There is no filter to change or recommended service for the fluid is there? Also disappointed I never heard back from Canton Racing Products as well. M7 was quick with responding to questions. Thanks for everyones input.

 

Unless you're independently wealthy I have one word for you on this.

L A W Y E R

 

So, here's the email from the shop foreman:

I am saddened to see that the conflicting information this customer has been given may be coming from another Mini dealer. I have confirmed with our Regional Technical Service Engineer that the reservoir does in fact have an integrated filter. Below is a cutaway picture of what the internals of the reservoir looks like with the filtration device integrated to the bottom of the reservoir at the inlet for the fluid return. This is not a serviceable component and there is no repair information available to indicate that there is a filter in the reservoir. Technical knowledge of how the system operates is necessary to properly identify, explain, and diagnose this system. I would caution the after marketer from providing information to their customers without having the appropriate knowledge to do so. Since the aftermarket reservoir has no source of filtration, It will allow debris from the system to return to the pump.

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As for answers to the information in the e-mails below… The fluid was not flushed at the time of the initial reservoir replacement. Nowhere in any repair instructions is that stated as a necessary step(see repair instructions attached). Good idea? Absolutely it is, but it’s not a requirement. If the original fluid that came out of the system did not visually appear to require a flush(which I do not know, as I was not involved), then I must trust that there was not obvious indicator for the need to flush the entire system as I must trust that my technician would make the appropriate recommendation based on what was found during the service. This is a grey area for this argument, I understand. I do agree with the company rep that it probably should have been done but then they should also be supplying their components with specific instructions to do so if that is their recommendation during the installation of their component. The fact that the fluid was not flushed is also a moot point when there is no other source of filtration in the system other than the fluid reservoir. There is also no guarantee that any large debris that would have been in the system would have been completely removed by flushing due to the design of the hydraulic system. Any debris that would have settled into the fluid chambers at the rack ends would likely not have been completely removed during the flushing procedure and would continue to be stirred up over time during operation. There is also an orifice in the return line that could block or trap debris when it meets that restriction. We did completely flush the fluid when we initially replaced the pump and again at the second replacement due to obvious debris contamination from the failure of the pump. My only regret is that my technician omitted that information from his poorly written job story when he finished the vehicle after the first pump replacement but I personally assisted him with flushing more than 3 additional liters of fluid through the system, so I know it was done. I know that means nothing when it is not reflected on the paperwork but there is nothing we can do about that now. We service thousands of these vehicles and have replaced hundreds(or more) of power steering pumps, without flushing the fluid, and never seen back to back failures like this. I’m not trying to directly blame his reservoir for the failure, but the failure of the original pump was coincidently very close to the time that the reservoir was installed. I must to rely on the information at hand for an appropriate diagnosis. It is entirely possible that the original pump was at or nearing the point failure to begin with which led to the introduction of debris into the system but I am not willing or comfortable to make that assumption. The bottom line is that the rest of the power steering system appears to be in good working order and we will not be replacing another pump under warranty with an aftermarket reservoir installed and we normally would not have repaired this pump under warranty due to the lack of filtration in the reservoir installed but I felt it was necessary to provide the best service to our customer and thus made the decision to do so. If I had been involved with the vehicle from the start and had an opportunity to inspect the part he requested to have installed in the first place, I never would have allowed the installation to proceed and would have done my best to convince our customer that it was not a good idea. We always want to keep his best interests in mind any time we are servicing his vehicle.

 

It's not a filter, its a sponge with sole purpose to absorb MOISTURE. Maybe they should contact a BMW engineer in Germany before making such claims.

Seen hundreds of PS pumps changed at the dealer I worked for. Even installed a few of these PS tanks as well. Never an issue as with yours.

The purported debris in the system IMO "could" have been in the tank ( possibly ) during the manufacturing process. But the only way to tell would be to see what they found...I would go down there, take the hand of the service manger walk into the
service bay area and ask to see what they found. If they didn't keep it, hard to make that claim.

I'd also consider contacting a lawyer who is familiar with the auto industry and case law for the Magnuson-Moss and have him/her send that dealership a letter....Once they realize it's their responsibly to prove their theory, and their inability to do so, they will see things in a different light.

 

So did the pump break again after OEM tank was installed?

 

No. No problems. I'm still driving her.

 

I installed both canton power steering and coolant tank and haven’t had any issues. With everything I read I’m going to side with installation error.